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She laughed to herself Did it even ht make all the tables and lists she pleased, but if Julian was determined to leave, he would leave She could throw herself at him shamelessly, make herself utterly vulnerable to public scorn, only to be rewarded with ruination and solitude

Here was one er However, Lily wasn’t certain in which colu up alone

She’d been insisting for months now that she didn’t want to marry But the reality of the alternative--decades of spinsterhood--was beginning to fir mortar She could all too easily see herself years in the future, passing day after day in a gray drawing rooray cats Even adding a rainbow-hued parrot, the picture was unbearably grim

With a brisk shake of her head, she tore the sheet frorate Really, she could ru could be certain until she saw Julian again

Tos, and it beat a joyous rhythm in her chest

Or, wait--perhaps that was just Tartuffe, fussing on his perch The bird did make an excellent door knocker Much more effective than thein the entryway

The butler bowed "If you please, my lady A delivery"

Froular box Atop the box was a sealed envelope Lily dismissed the servants with her thanks and reached for the note She knew it had to be fro in the coffeehouse, but he’d been sending little missives every day That first afternoon, he’d sent a note asking after her health She’d replied with assurances and asked for the sa with an inquiry as to the color of her gown for the assembly She wrote him she had not decided yet but would keep him informed when she did And on and on, the notes went to and fro, addressing everything but ned them all, "Your besotted correspondent, Julian"

Then yesterday, A a wish to help her practice dancing Lily had no doubt that they ca She would have been hard pressed to say which had beenduke, or dancing with the pregnant Aentleman’s part But despite the discomfort, Lily had practiced, and industriously so There was pride at stake

And now, it would see her notes and visitors to sending her gifts For a man so determined not to woo her, his behavior was curious indeed

She opened the envelope first and found a neatly ordered list, divided in two colueneral appearance, it was uncomfortably similar to the paper she’d just tossed into the fire Her heart skipped a beat Upon perusing it, however, she learned it was not a list of Argu--but rather a list of dances in the first column, and on the other side, a list of na to quite wealthy, entlemen With a few notable exceptions Near the end, Morland’s name was listed next to a waltz, and Amelia’s older brother Laurent, the Earl of Beauvale, was down for the opening quadrille

One na, she opened and read aloud the note he had enclosed Silly, perhaps, reading aloud for no one’s ears--not even her own But she liked the feel of his words on her tongue

"‘Dear Lily, as promised, I have learned the list of dances for Lord and Lady Ainsley’s asse your partners in advance’" She enerous of you, Julian" She returned to the letter "‘As for the contents of the package, I trust you will know for who propriety, I dare not send the gift direct’"

Now this was a truethe package and removed the top of the box In it, she found a cloud of white tissue and a sies No ermine was in stock

She lifted from the box a heavy winter cloak The black as of the finest quality, soft as kittens to the touch The entire gared with sable It was a cloak fit for--not a queen, perhaps, but a well-heeled member of her court--and its proportions were far and away too large for Lily’s fra the cloak over her ar out down the corridor "I believe you have an admirer"

Chapter Fourteen

Julian prepared for the ball in the saht He rested well, ate well, marshaled his powers of concentration He readied his jabs and his evasive ht he learned the truth--the truth of his enemy, the truth of Leo’s death Anticipation resonated in his bones By God, he was ready to deal so Merriment before the fall By the time he arrived at Lord and Lady Ainsley’s assembly (late, of course; it would not do to be punctual), he’d aned to help hi at Lily

The probleer for a brisk gathy chat on the aesthetic merits of Covent Garden’s newest Parisian actress Because, it seemed, every other awping at Lily

Within fivethe assembly rooms, Julian adly well tonight To Julian, she looked well every night, but on this particular occasion, she’d attained a new pinnacle of elegance Her gown of shi bronze moiré wasn’t the most au courant, nor the most expensive in the room The simple upsweep of her dark, thick locks wasn’t a new or innovative coiffure And she did have a few true contenders for the honor of loveliest lady in attendance But those ladies could go stew in their own beauty All eyes were on Lily, and her naentlemen, she inspired open admiration In the ladies, she inspired ru bucks, Julian felt sure he heard her inspiring soly bad poetry

Julian, on the other hand, could not credit her with any particular inspiration In fact, he blamed Lily for his difficulty with respiration

She took his breath away Oh, she eventually let him have it back, because she was hardly a thief But she made him work for it, Lily did To have her within his line of vieas to feel the sie, rather than an instinctive act<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>